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END OF AN ERA: OTTAWA LANDMARK CLOSES AFTER 33 YEARS
OTTAWA, June 16, 2001 -- The Coral Reef Club, the oldest existing club for Ottawa's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community, and possibly the oldest in North America, has closed permanently after 33 years with two final events. On June 9, the club held a final women's dance. On June 16, a mega drag show featured Brenda Starr and a host of other performers from bygone days, including Deedee Dancer.
For the generation of the 1970s, the Coral Reef Club offered a safe haven and a meeting place in a time when the GLBT community still lived in the shadows. Standing-room-only crowds packed the club for the popular "Bingo Nights" ("Under the O 69") and for extravagant drag shows awash in feathers and glitter, showcasing the talents of such legends as Peaches Latour, Madame and Mimi (Micheline Vylmaire).
As the 1980s and 1990s witnessed the birth and growth of a vibrant, open and free GLBT community in Ottawa, as well as the tragic losses of the AIDS epidemic, the Coral Reef Club responded to new needs. Under the management of Homer Haddad, the club offered a willing and welcome venue for fund-raisers in aid of various needy and worthy causes, such as the AIDS Committee of Ottawa and Bruce House.
The Coral Reef Club also hosted fund-raisers for the community's political and social organizations, such as the Association of Lesbians, Transgendered, Gays and Bisexuals of Ottawa (ALTGBO), the Pride Committee and Mr. Leather Ottawa-Hull.
Since the ice storm in early 1998, however, attendance began to dwindle as new clubs vied for customers and as new social patterns emerged in the lesbian community. Manager Homer Haddad thus felt that the time had come for the Coral Reef Club to end its long and proud history of service to Ottawa's GLBT community.
The club will be sadly missed by generations of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people, for whom it was their gateway to a new lifestyle and community
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